We urgently need to stop this cycle of repeated incarceration and offer programs that truly create wholeness, safety, and belonging. We are proud to be part of a movement that encourages us to think and act differently, to reimagine our criminal justice system. Our trauma-informed and resilience-building methodology offers practical inner tools people can use anywhere. It works.

In addition to the physical benefits and improved overall well-being, yoga and meditation have been scientifically proven to:

• Drastically reduce rates of recidivism, people who practice yoga and meditation behind bars are less likely to return to prison once they have finished their sentence

• Only 8% of individuals who took 4 or more yoga classes returned to prison, compared with a national average of 60% recidivism.

•  Reduce depression, anger, and anxiety, often a root cause of destructive behavior and drug use.

• Be an effective adjunctive therapy during treatment for drug addiction, which is a co-factor in many of our students’ incarceration.

Our definition of Trauma-Informed Yoga
We define trauma-informed yoga as offering accessible embodiment practices that encourage participants to reclaim their agency through choice, inclusion, and nervous-system regulation. Rather than merely addressing emotional and physical symptoms of trauma, our classes focus on well-being, possibility, and choice. Our instructors have sensitivity and awareness of trauma, and understand its impact on the entire mind-body system. They fully integrate knowledge into their teaching practices to move towards well-being, and actively resist re-traumatization.